Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Naval General Service 1793-1840, 2 clasps, 17 June 1795, Mars 21 April 1798 (William Tucker.) nearly extremely fine £5,000-£7,000

49 clasps issued for Vice-Admiral Cornwallis’s action off Ushant on 17 June 1795, where five enemy ships, two frigates and a brig were successfully engaged.

26 clasps issued for the capture of the French 74-gun ship-of-the-line L’Hercule by the Mars 74

William Tucker is confirmed as an Ordinary Seaman on Mars for both actions. Mars was badly damaged on 17 June 1795 and the only ship to sustain casualties. Her captain was killed in the action on 21 April 1798, when the French seventy-four L’Hercule was taken and added to the British fleet. 4 others with this name are shown on the rolls, all single clasps, for Trafalgar, Victorious with Rivoli, 14 Dec Boat Service 1814, and Navarino.
17 June 1794
Vice-Admiral the Hon. W. Cornwallis, with the Royal Sovereign 100, flagship, Captain J. Whitby; Mars, Sir C. Cotton; Triumph, Sir E. Gower; Brunswick, Lord Charles Fitzgerald; Bellerophon, Lord Cranston, all seventy-fours; the frigates Phaeton, Hon. R. Stopford; Pallas, Hon. H. Curzon; and the Kingfisher, sloop, at the end of May, 1795, sailed from Spithead on a cruise off Ushant, On June 16th, near Belle-Isle; he discovered a French fleet of twelve sail of the line, fourteen frigates and corvettes, and four smaller vessels, and finding it so superior in force hauled to the wind, and stood to the northward under all sail. Some of the British ships being heavy sailers, on the morning of June 17th, the enemy's fleet formed in three divisions, came up very fast, and at about nine a.m. their van ships opened fire on the Mars, the rearmost ship in the British squadron. The cannonade soon became general, each of the British ships firing her stern or quarter guns as she could bring them to bear. The leading French ships kept up a harassing fire for three or four hours, when Admiral Cornwallis, seeing that the Mars, much crippled in her rigging, had fallen to leeward, and was in danger of being overpowered, bore up to her relief followed by the Triumph. On the approach of the Royal Sovereign, the van ships of the enemy hauled to the wind, but a partial firing was kept up till after six in the evening. About seven o'clock the French gave up the pursuit, tacked and stood away to the eastward, and at sunset were nearly hull down. What induced the French Admiral to retire when his ships had almost surrounded the British squadron, was a successful manoeuvre practised on him by Admiral Cornwallis. Early on the morning of the 17th, he sent the Phaeton far ahead of his squadron, in order, as he said, "to humbug the fellows astern." Having got some miles off, the Phaeton made the signal of strange sails in the west north west, followed by the signal for a fleet. At three p.m., being very far ahead, the frigate made the private signal to the supposed fleet, and then signalling to Admiral Cornwallis that the fleet were ships of the line and friends, wore to rejoin the squadron. The enemy were well acquainted with the British signals, and knew that a fleet under Lord Bridport was at sea, and several small sail appearing at the same time in the extreme distance, they deemed them to be his ships, and gave up the chase. With the exception of the Mars and Triumph, the British ships received but little damage, but their sterns were much shaken from the continued firing of the guns; not a man was killed, and but twelve men wounded on board the Mars.

Capture of L’Hercule

In the spring of 1798, a detachment of the Channel fleet, under Admiral Lord Bridport was cruising off Brest. On April 21st, three strange sail were discovered, one of which, a French 74 was chased by the Mars 74, Captain Alexander Hood, the Ramilies 74, Captain H. Inman, and the Jason 38-gun frigate, Captain C. Stirling. Shortly after six in the evening the Ramilies carried away her fore-top mast and fell astern,and the chase was continued by the Mars and Jason, the rest of the British fleet being distant ten or twelve miles. The French ship, which was I'Hercule a new 74 just out of port, finding herself unable to escape through the passage du Raz into Brest, dropped her anchor, and with her sails furled and a spring on her cable, awaited the approach of the Mars. About nine fifteen p.m. the Mars which had left the Jason far astern, was fired on by the I'Hercule, and gave a return, when Captain Hood ranging a short distance ahead of his opponent, let go his anchor. The Mars dropping astern through the strength of the current, the anchor on her larboard bow became hooked in the starboard anchor of the Hercule, and thus entangled, their sides rubbing together so that the lower deck guns of each ship could not be run out, but were fired within board, the two ships fought for nearly an hour and a half. Two attempts of the Frenchmen to board the Mars were defeated, and the starboard side of the Hercule being terribly shattered, several of her ports beaten into one, and five of her lower deck guns dismounted, at ten-thirty, she hailed that she had surrendered. In this severe action the Mars lost her gallant Captain, Hood, twenty-nine officers and men killed and missing, and sixty men wounded. The loss of the Hercule, out of a crew of seven hundred men, was two hundred and ninety killed and wounded. About twenty minutes after the engagement terminated, the Jason came up, and assisted in removing the prisoners and getting the prize under sail. The damages to her hull were so extensive, that it was with the greatest difficulty that she was brought into Plymouth, where she was refitted, and added to the British Navy.